LynuxWorks snares European GPS design win

SAN JOSE, Calif.  LynuxWorks Inc., an embedded software vendor based here, said Tuesday (April 3) that it has been selected by the European Space Agency to supply the real-time operating system for the Galileo project, a European global navigation system.

The company's LynxOS-178, a real-time operating system for safety-critical applications, will be used in the Galileo Mission Segments.

Gurjot Singh, CEO of LynuxWorks, attributed the design win to his company's track record of conforming with open standards such as Linux, Posix and UNIX, in addition to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) recent approval on the reusability of LynxOS-178.

LynxOS-178 is the industry's only commercial, off-the-shelf RTOS to receive Reusable Software Component (RSC) acceptance from the FAA, he added.

Compared to the U.S. GPS constellation, Europe's Galileo global navigation satellite system is designed to provide levels of location accuracy down to a meter.

The Galileo Mission Segments consists of a network of basestations that will monitor signals from satellites and send navigation data back to the satellites. Several subcontractors are involved in providing different subsytems for the Galileo project.

The ability to link such subsystems is a strength for LynuxWorks because of its experience supporting industry standards, according to Gary Gilliland, manager of systems engineers at LynuxWorks.

Beyond location-based services, Galileo will be used in safety-critical applications such as "navigating [in] a storm, altering routes or landing of airplanes," Gilliland explained. LynxOS-178's ability to communicate with multiple systems and different aircraft is critical, he added.

Prior to the Galileo design win, LynxOS RTOS was selected for use in the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Satellite Service. Egnos is designed to augment GPS, Russia's GLONASS and Galileo navigation systems so they can be used for applications such as aircraft navigation.